In recent years, as the Special Tactics Group’s operating environment has become more complicated, commanders and operators now find STG Intel integral to their success.

There are 25 sworn and non-sworn STG Intel analysts across the country. There is always a minimum of six in each region – Northern, Central and Southern – and one on call at all times.

They are called in to support typically one or two STG deployments a week in each region, as well as some high-risk, pre-planned Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) deployments that could escalate to STG level. Some operations can take weeks to be resolved.

The role of STG Intel is to quickly locate and meticulously pore through information, declutter, verify and analyse it, then relay pertinent points to STG tactical commanders to inform their decision-making. They are a “critical component” of the broader team, says Southern tactical commander Inspector Steve Mather.

“But, while the STG is a full-time national group, STG Intel still operates in a part-time capacity. They are an amazing resource that has developed into a very professional arm of the STG model,” says Steve.

His Northern counterpart, Inspector Gary Rakena, agrees. “I have seen STG Intel develop, evolve and become a professional, respected cohort over the past 10 to 12 years. It has intelligence professionals who can perform with some of the best-trained equivalents.”

Southern STG Intel co-ordinator and team member Senior Sergeant Chris Barker says STG Intel now deploys more than ever, meaning tactical commanders are now better supported than at any other time.

Chris says he works in Intel because “I hate the harm caused by crooks and I like helping to catch them”.

“It's a pretty interesting and exciting part of the business. You can be sitting at your desk and next minute there’s a job on and you pack up and you walk out. It's immediate for urgent jobs. For the pre-planned jobs, it just comes down to who's available and who can be released.”

During an emergency deployment, STG Intel is responsible for setting up a mobile base and co-ordinating the equipment they need if they are heading into the field. Then it’s down to business – checking multiple databases for information, analysing the environment and key locations, interrogating all the data and developing assessments that inform the make-up of the tactical plan.

“We also look at the suspects themselves… looking at their capabilities, what their intent might be, opportunities available to them but then opportunities available to us to exploit, so we can apprehend them... at times it can be a mix between investigative and intelligence work as we work through the discovery process,” Chris says.

“We can become quite annoying at times, because we're ultimately ringing so many people all the time. At the end of the day, when staff are in harm's way, we've got to make sure we have the best available information, so that they can do their job well and safely.

“The tactical commander is ultimately the one who's going to determine what the plan looks like, and how they're going to resolve the situation. They need the best intelligence they can get to do that.

“Everything we do is flexible and scalable,” Chris says. “We can be sitting in a car with a laptop or sitting in a mobile police base with multiple screens and TVs. Regardless, you can guarantee there will be several radios going and multiple moving parts to try to monitor and keep over.”

Steve says sometimes it is challenging for STG Intel members to balance their busy, business-as-usual roles and the demands of STG. “The value they add is considerable and we sometimes end up working without them and it’s very noticeable when they are not around.”

Gary agrees, saying Intel is vital “to better understand the risk we ask our people to operate in”.

Chris says the more STG operations Intel works on, the better. “Every commander has got their own nuances or specific requirements that they like to have met. And getting to know them is quite important, because then, once we know what it is they like, we know what it is that we can deliver to them in a manner they can digest. I guess through training we learn where to go and when, speeding up the intelligence so commanders can make good, informed decisions.”

Being embedded in the actual working environment is even better, he says. “You pick up the nitty gritty stuff from staff talking in the office or just chewing the fat with you. You can learn a lot from listening to challenges operators face and therefore think about ways to find the intel needed for next time.”

“STG Intel is very specialised. Staff gain in-depth skills that take many, many years to fully develop… variety and exposure are really important to build that skill set,” Chris says.

“Over the years we've certainly come across a lot of different ways to solve things.”

That know-how has seen techniques and processes developed by STG Intel used in developing the tactical intelligence aspect of Police’s Tactical Response Model, which is about to be rolled out nationally.

STG intelligence techniques and processes align closely with the Australia New Zealand Counter Terrorism Committee operating model. “It's an important guide, although we add a unique New Zealand flavour to it.”

Kiwis train with the Australians as well as the New Zealand Defence Force and other government departments. Internally, regional training days are held every two months and a nationwide skills enhancement course (SEC) is held once a year.

“We try to get as many people as we can along to our SEC… operators, commanders, Intel, and all the other specialist work groups, so that we can make sure that we all work smoothly, we all know each other's roles and we all know where we fit in the puzzle,” Chris says.

“STG Intel has its challenges and wouldn't be for everyone, but we have a team of awesome people who deliver a world-class service. But we don't try to promote ourselves as being anything special, we're just some people who know where to find stuff and how to analyse it.”